Best. Vacation. Ever.

It was refreshing in ways I didn't even understand until I got back into the swing of things. I realized that no where else in the world would give me the things I needed: comfort, familiarity, damn good beer, and fantastic company!

Sadly, I didn't have as much time as I would have wanted, but I'm hard pressed to come up with a magic amount of time when I would feel ready to return to Taiwan. But I did get to see just about everyone I wanted to see at least once(two notable exceptions being my cousin Shelley and the new baby, and my friend Jeff), and I got a week of fresh lungfuls of air.

I ate fajitas, cheddar, falafel, pizza (with no corn, thank you very much!), ribs, mashed potatoes, and so much more. I drank bucketfuls of dark beer, had a few margaritas, and a pina colada. it was a beautiful thing. And it turns out that I can still drive a car, even if I had to turn down the music to focus on the clutch, gas, and stick action at the same time that first day.

In the end, I'm really happy I went, and I'm still happy to be coming home in 4 months, but suddenly that length of time seems bearable. I can do it and have a good time in the process.
Thanks to everyone for making time for me and I'm sorry

Oh Happy Day!

This is the best vacation ever! I'm a woman on a mission, and sadly that mission is affecting my ability to sleep. I have to see as many friends as possible, eat all the foods I can't get in Taiwan, drink all the good beer I haven't had in 8 months, and spend heaps of time with the family. So far so good, I'm loving every minute!

Number of friends visited, called, etc.: 7
"Exotic" Western Cuisine Eaten: Hommous, grape leaves, salsa, burritos, dark beer...
Amount of rice consumed: 0
Amount of chopsticks touched: 0

I have encountered a few problems. I noticed that I stare at the weiguoren (foreigners) in Taiwan. Apparently that hasn't stopped here. I was walking through the airport staring at all the non-asian folks, not really thinking about it when I realized that that's not a normal thing, in fact it's pretty rude. Oops. I also can't sleep from excitement. I wake up and start thinking about all the things to do and see...oh I have to calm down. I get so riled up...

Next up: Shopping in stores that actually carry my size! Glorious!

Sleepovers

Last night, for the first time since I was 12 years-old, I went to a girl party. There were girly snacks (chocolate, gummy bears, chips), fruity cocktails, nail polish, happy music, and gossip. There were even the "brother" figures hiding out in their room, appearing only to use the bathroom and greeted with chants of "no boys allowed!" and "girls rule, boys drool!"

I personally believe the cresendo occurred when Judy called the boy she has a crush on and secured a date for the following day. It was too much! The booze was the only thing separating last night's party from an actual elementary school sleepover! Well, *and* the pillow-fight in our sexy lingerie, but that's neither here nor there. :)

The ladies had some dancing to do at the club later in the night, but I had some packing to do (yippee!) so I ski-dattled around 1:00 am. Good times!

Balloon Phobia

Among the fears I've faced in Taiwan, walking inches from the drop off of a cliff and driving a scooter on a busy road on Saturday evening being the scariest, I can confidently say I've conquered my fear of balloon-popping. I wasn't an incapacitating fear, but certainly not anything I enjoyed. But my kindergarten class has helped me change all that. In fact, we played a game on Friday, designed to (ideally) teach sharing that involved popping balloons.

Each student got a balloon, and had to keep it in the air without letting it touch the ground. When it hit the ground, I popped it, and the student would then ask his/her friend if they could play together. Everyone gets to play, and in a perfect world, everyone in the end is playing with one balloon, sharing happily.

The game gets underway and about two seconds in I was forced to pop the first balloon. Teacher Marie, who must not have understood the rules, screamed. It turns out her fear is slightly worse than mine. She shook until I popped the next one, and when I looked again, it was just in time to see her scuttling out of the room as fast as I've ever seen her move. Her cover was clever, "I'll just get the kids' lunch now...yeah that's it" but it was pretty obvious she was scared. We laughed about it later.

The kids on ther other hand had a pretty good time. There were some kids in the corner with their balloons near their heads, hands covering their ears, but there was a lot of sharing and frolicking...until the balloons became more scarce. Then there was "No! Wo de! (Mine in Chinese)" and crying. Right around the time "faux-hawk" Thomas burst into sobs at the thought of losing his balloon, we stopped the game. We sat down and explained the game again, why we played it, why it was good to share, and why if I popped your balloon it wasn't a punishment, it only meant you got to play with your friends. I even got to say such ridiculously cheesy things as "When we share, everyone is a winner" That one shocks me even now. I'm pretty sure I flinched when I said it...

But lessons were learned, among them a few about human nature and ownership and why communism can never work in real life. Eventually someone will start crying, and the hand of authority will come along and crush his dream of balloon-ownership.

Happy Friday

Plans to go home are fully underway. Tickets have been purchased, gifts chosen, dinners with friends planned. I leave in T-4 days and counting...

One event I'm excited about: Taste of Taiwan. I'm going to gather a bunch of my friends and feed them some exotic snacks from Taiwan and Asia in general. I might also hit them the photos then, but they are luckily spared a slide show...maybe.

Performance Anxiety

Today was my first day back after my extended sick leave. I had lots of energy, and I found myself happier than I've been in a long time. I needed that rest more than I knew.

Tonight was a graduation performance for one of my classes that's ending. I had to say a few words and demo an advanced class the kids can take. I was feeling a little uncomfortable with "selling" the class, and with all the parents' eyes on me, judging my technique...let's just say I was a little nervous. But I pulled through and we had a good time, I'd say. I mean, 11 Taiwanese kids singing "Hey Jude" is always a good time, n'est-ce pas?

Tomorrow is Tomb Sweeping Day, a national holiday that allows families time to keep up their passed loved ones' grave sites. I don't have any ancestors tombs to sweep, but I still get the day off. I'm not complaining!

The countdown is on until I come home for a brief visit: 9 days left. I've been frantically searching for gifts and photos to bring home to show everyone. I can't wait to see all the old places, and my friends and family...